Robb was born in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania and attended Peabody High School in Pittsburgh.

Playing the positions of halfback, fullback and quarterback, Robb was a standout in football at the college level.

[1] He was elected captain of the Penn State football team in 1917, however he enlisted in the US Army instead, serving as a lieutenant during World War I.

He was again elected to captain the 1918 Penn State team, however after receiving his commission as a lieutenant his college career moved him to Columbia University, where he played end.

In 1962, he donated a wool Canton Bulldogs warm-up sideline jacket from the early 1920s to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.